In November last year, RP Data real estate figures showed 443 properties sold at auction in Sydney's west.

The Canterbury-Bankstown area recorded a 92 per cent clearance rate in one seven-day period - far above the Sydney-wide clearance rate, which was between 50 and 60 per cent for most of the year.

Daniel Formosa of Starr Partners in Blacktown said hit television shows such as The Block, as well as on-site auctions, have put the method into the spotlight.

"Locals are getting educated about auctions and as more and more people see their neighbours getting good results, the better the perception is about auctions," Mr Formosa said.

"This year our office is going to concentrate a lot more on auctions. I predict that it's going to be a great year for auctions in the west."

In some Sydney neighbourhoods a stigma once attached to auctions has lifted, adding to the popularity of selling under the hammer.

Tracey Le from LJ Hooker in Cabramatta, which recently opened an in-house auction room, said: "I think people were hesitant to buy at auction because they thought it was a mortgagee in possession sale, or a divorce settlement.

"They believed that the local community might judge them, think they were going bankrupt," she said,

"But in the past three to five years, that attitude is changing. People are getting more educated on auctions."

L Janusz Hooker, the deputy chairman of LJ Hooker, said the group's agencies in the west, northwest and south-west of Sydney have all found that more properties are selling under the hammer.

"People in Sydney's west used to be reluctant to sell at auction, but when they have 20 to 30 groups come through at open inspections, they see the competition and feel more confident," he said.

"Prices have come down since the peak in 2010 so there is good affordability driving this section of the market and we expect there to be some growth next year."

He said there is strong demand for houses priced between $400,000 and $600,000, and many sell before auction.